breaking news we have been telling you about. pope benedict xvi resigning february 28th. he is citing ill health. and uncertainty what that ill health will be. we're trying to get more details. unprecedented. >> hasn't happened in 600 years. so many questions. so much now that needs to happen with electing the new pope. we'll bring you the information coming up on "starting point" a few seconds from now. that's "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm sfwlor azoraida sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now.

we begin with breaking news. pope benedict xvi resigning. age and fatigue are the reasons behind his resignation. here is what the statement reads in part "both strength of mind and body are necessary. strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that i have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me." this tweet came from the pope's account 23 hours ago. we must trust in the mitty power of god's mercy. we are all sinners, but his grace transforms us and makes us new. this would be historical. the last time a pope resigned happened 600 years ago. that would be pope gregory iv in 1415. the very first pope to resign was pope clement in the year 101, 1,100 years ago roughly that the first pope resigned. many questions about whether

popes in modern times think resignation is acceptable or not. pope benedict said, in fact, made it very clear that being able to resign was acceptable and made this part of the statement released from the vatican, both strength of mind and body is necessary, and lots of questions, of course. we know the date he would be stepping down, which would be february 28th. many questions about why now? mep notice that the pope is much more frail in recent months, and the question would be unbelie unbelievably unusual. let's go to nic robertson joining us by phone. nic, lots of questions. nic live in london this morning. a bit of a stunner. was there any indication that this resignation was coming? >> absolutely none whatsoever,

and the last few months, the pope started a twitter account, not what you expect the pope to do when he would say his pope is deteriorating. the pope has looked deep into his conscience, this is a personal and profound decision that he has made with god in light of the responsibilities he has. and the other thing we heard from the papal spokesperson, which is interesting, because the question, is it the pope's physical health or mental health that pushed him into this position? we have heard the vatican say very clearly that the pope has done this of his own free will, that this is dune legone legall pope recognizes the gravity of the situation there is a sense here that what the vatican is doing is the pope is very aware of what it's doing. this gives an indication of a

mental health deterioration than physical abilities. >> yet there, is no indication he is canceling any appointments or a slew of appointments. it looks like his calendar is busy, and it's as rigorous as always been. and the vatican has maintained a course of action that has really kept outsiders completely in the dark. one of the things that the vatican has recognized the position he's in needs vitality. it needs a level of energy. certainly there are approximate many in the church that look to invigorate the church. particularly in developed countries, falling numbers of people are attending church, and pope is in the driver's seat and that's why they keep up this busy travel schedule.

we're hearing from the vatican that the pope recognizes he needs the vigor and wivitality do that. >> what does a pope that retires do? a retired pope could be a huge problem in terms of power grabbing. i'm not sure if people are concerned about that as much today. have you spoken about that? >> these are unanswered questions. one would anticipate he would go into retirement in the vatican, but he could go back to germany where he spent his early years, but i think perhaps what he's going to do, the pope has answered that to a degree and providing a life of prayer, and will he try and exercise any kind of influence over who will be the next pope.

and these are key questions. the church is very much on track to go through the normal procedures of the pope, the cardinals, 80 years of age, about 120 of them and will decide who the next pope will be, and in that process. there is no space for an existing pope or recently retired pope. it seems he will be around continuing prayers, but not actively engaged in leading the church in any way, shape, that he has been recently. >> when you talk about 120 cardinals, new cardinals have been added to the mix. cardinals from india, lebanon, philippines, and the united states. the creation of those cardinals was cause for lots of speck ration about the role and power of cardinals to pick the next pope. when that happened.

>> there was a lot of talk in 2005 when pope benedict was elected to become pope. perhaps it would be a pope from africa or perhaps from one south american nation where there is really a sort of real energy in the catholic church where it is still growing. the economies and countries growing. we may see a push for that. and it may not be a pope as conservative and traditional views as pope benedict. and developing countries to build the catholic church, to stop the deterioration and erosion that we have seen over the past several decades. a real possibility that those new cardinals could make a difference. >> and back in may, you have the

scandal of the leaked documents. we heard rumors that maybe the pope would resign, and there was a butler that was leaking those documents. >> the butler was sentenced to jail, went to jail. the pope went to visit him a few days before christmas, and gave him his sort of -- if you will, forgave him for taking these documents. these were private letters between the pope and several cardinals, but interestingly enough, the butler is out of jail. the papal butler out of jail, and given a job at a hospital site. and built within the vatican grounds, and really the butler has been brought back into the fold. and an interesting process, and stole those papal letters, and the pope has made his

difference, the butler has resolved the differences. >> nic robertson with breaking news that the pope will be resigning. we know the date, but nots of questions why. we'll keep you around and continue to talk to you throughout the morning. i want to get to alex. much of the questions about the why the pope is stepping down would be questions of the impact of the sex scandal that developed the catholic church will be having. let's talk about the documentary about the pope for hbo. he joins us by phone. thank you for talking to us. >> sure. >> a lot of questions is about the why behind it. the pope is old, frail, exhausted physically, emotionally and these are the reasons behind why the news that he would stepping down on february 28th.

increasdibly unusual. there has to be some impact of the sex scandal, a huge problem and enveloped much of the catholic church over the last decade. >> yes, there has. i think pope benedict's reign has been design edefined by the sex axwbuse scandal. his office uniquely over charge the with overseeing this sex scandal. i think his -- his time has been defined by these issues. >> we were talking to nic robertson a moment ago about what would happen when a pope resigned. the last pope resigning happened 600 and some odd years ago, and

what would be the guess about what could possibly happen? especially in light of the ongoing investigation into some of the scandals. what happens when a pope resigns? >> you know, i'm not the person to act. you have to go back 600 years to get someone to pig that out. i do wonder if it's in response for growing clamor over this, because in the wake of a new revelation, in los angeles, and the growing international knavor of the discoveries over sex abuse. it does seem this papacy is more and more embattled. >> nic said the job of the pope is to have aggressive and intense travel schedule in order to invigorate the cath lish church overall and fight against the erosion of the church. how much of a role has the scandal played in that?

>> that's a good question. the man who has gone very hard after centers in the church, tried to uphold security doctrine. they have been questioning things like forced sell boise, gay marriage, or the role of women in the church. so, you know, that's the other aspect of benedict's role that cannot be overlooked. that is also one coming under harsher and harsher criticism. >> lots of questions why. a documentary, documentary about the sex scandal. clerical sex scandal in the church. absolutely riveting. thank you for being with us. we certainly appreciate it. we'll take a short break and continue to follow the news about pope benedict xvi resigning. first time since the 1400s. we'll update you right after this short break. hey, it's sara. i'm going pro.

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good morning, everybody. welcome, everyone. historic breaking news. pope benedict xvi announcing to his cardinals in latin, he's resigning due to age and declining strength. he is 85. will turn 86 in april. the last pope to resign is pope gregory in 1415. >> we didn't cover that one to be honest. all jokes aside, this is so unprecedented for all of us here. raises so many questions. what happens now? can a pope resign? a pope can resign. for a long time, the pope felt they should not resign, a father could not leave his flock. but pope benedict xvi, from the time he was cardinal ratzinger, he said a pope could resign if he felt he was not physically up to his the job. >> talked about it in his book.

there are questions about the why. you have alluded to his declining health and people said he felt very frail. and he gets god's strength through his mission, and he would they were cleaning up this at the vatican and church scandals that led back to the vatican as well. a lot of questions about what it would be. john paul ii, thinking about resigning, prepared letters of resignation, and both from 197. he turned 75 and 80, never went ahead with the resignations that he was thinking about. but it will be interesting to hear more as we understand why the pope -- the reasons behind why the pope has been called to resign, which will happen on

february 28th. other stories making news this morning. john berman has that too. talking about the storm here. families and businesses in seven counties trying to recover from a violent tornado that tore a path through southern mississippi on sunday. ripping apart homes, shops, and causing damage to a university campus. 4,000 homes are still without power. 16 people are injured. and a storm chaser captured this terrifying sight. a funnel cloud in hattiesburg. that took the brunt of a series of reported twisters that just pounded the region overnight. meanwhile, the northeast beginning dig out of a history-making blizzard. parts of the region, including the hardest hit state, connecticut, bracing for freezing rain. blizzard dumped a staggering 40 inches of snow in hamden, connecticut. so much snow, the city's mayor says many roads there are still blocked today, at least nine

deaths blamed on the blizzard, and as of late yesterday, 270,000 utility customers still in the dark. now, another slippery threat in the east and south. not out of danger zone. alexandra steele tracking the threat coming in this morning. >> good morning, john. danbury, connecticut, seeing ice. a mix of ice and snow. all snow in pitsfield, mass. the good news, it will all move through by noon today. freezing rain advisories, winter weather advisories, done by the afternoon. yesterday, 15 reports of tornadoes in the south in mississippi, of course, that awful scenario the powerful tornado. february in mississippi on average, they see about eight tornadoes during the month. not out qwest, but look at this. a rain tree. today, the throat not so much isolated tornado but heavy rain. yesterday and wednesday right along i-10, i-20 corridor,

dallas to atlanta. and there is the potential for three to five inches of rain. not moving anywhere. so a big-time flooding. that's the severe threat in the south. less so, john, isolated tornadoes. gusty winds certainly in the south today. >> heavy, heavy rain. alexandra steele, thank you very much. big developments in the manhunt for christopher dorner in southern california. a huge $1 million reward being offered for anyone who provides information that leads to his capture. he pledged to wage warfare against police and members of their family. he is called a domestic terrorist and it's been vowed to stop him from killing anyone else. we will be joined by nick

valencia. breaking news, pope benedict xvi's resignation. what happens now, what happens next? how is the next pope chosen and when? all of that, coming up. stay with us. [ anouncer ] ihop is in time square to compare new griddle-melts to your usual breakfast sandwich. a lot more flavor. [ anouncer ] ihop's new griddle melts... made fresh and hot! hand crafted just for you. it's like a sexy sandwich. [ anouncer ] compare new griddle melts yourself. just $4.99. it's an epic breakfast sandwich. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. when you're carrying a lot of weight, c-max has a nice little trait, you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid.

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good morning. breaking news. pope benedict xvi has announced he is resigning. scheduled to step down on february 24th. he is saying it is because of age and fatigue. we're getting the editor of cnn's belief blog. thank you for talking to us. we know that the pope can resign, canon law in 1917 made it possible. that said, it's incredibly unusual. >> yeah it is incredibly unusual. i was speaking with archbishop a few months ago in springfield and archbishop of miami. he said keep in mind, cardinal ratzinger when he was a cardinal had every intention of retiring. archbishops are forced into retirement at age of 75 if they have not been elevated to

cardinal. before he became pope benedict, he every intention of hanging it up are, stepping into the summer of his life and enjoying retirement. he was in many ways a surprise candidate to the pope initially as we talked about. forced retirement, many of them look forward to. i have talked to a lot of cardinals in the retirement age and when you reach that age, keep in mind, many have been studying to be priests since they were teens. they look forward to not being in that position. the other thing i have been talking about, pope john ii died in office. not sure we'll see that from the catholic faithful. the mean reason, pope john paul,

and much more theologian, and you talk about that he is much more interested in theology and doctrine than past popes were. >> eric, from our belief blog. we'll continue to watch what will happen with the breaking story. we want to get right to john with an update on other top stories. carnival cruise ship is stranded in the gulf of mexico. a fire broke out on the carnival "triumph." there are no reports of injuries right now. and another ship is expected to meet up with the triumph and tow it to port in mexico and expected to arrive there by wednesday. late joe paterno's family saying he bears no blame in the jerry sandusky sex abuse case.

paterno failed to stop his former assistant's crimes, but the review of the report claims it is based on speculation and opinion, not fact. sue talked about this with katie couric. >> it is so hard to accept, but when i read the first charge, i actually got physically ill. i couldn't read any more for a couple of days. >> former fbi director louis freeh says he stands by the report and paterno's own review of the report is "self-serving." the medal of honor will be awarded to clinton romesha. he helped rescue the injured and retrieve the dead in a battle in afghanistan, despite a hole in his arm from a rocket propelled grenade. a little folk, a little fun,

not as much flesh at the 55th annual xwramy awards in los angeles. british folk band mumford & sons got top honors for their song "babel," and the indy group fun was named best new artist. everybody took cbs' tone it down wardrobe request seriously. >> as you can see, i read the memo. >> the performances turned heads. just you know timber lake, talking about on the web, chris brown, not an inch between and he rihanna, cows zying up watch the show. >> that has spent people into a tizzy that they are back together. >> a lot of people have a lot of opinions on this. brown is the only one that

didn't stand up when frank ocean won his grammy. we have a picture of chris brown seated. clapping, but not standing, they, of course, had a tiff recently too. >> and i believe frank ocean could sue him or might be suing him so -- >> may be why he's not standing up. continue to follow breaking news. pope benedict xvi resigning, willappen later this month on the 28th. vatican citing age. developing details on what this means for the vatican, catholic church as a whole. and what is happening in southern mississippi when a twister tore through. major damage to tell you about there. look at the pictures. then, "snl" has fun with the super bowl power outage, listen. >> i have no new information, back to you, j.b.. >> back to you, steve. >> you can't back to you me, i just back to you youed, back to you. ,

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pope benedict xvi resigning, the vatican releasing what the pope told his cardinals this morning, indicating his age, which is 85, and fatigue is the reason behind his resignation. here is a little bit of what the statement said. both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that i had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. and the tweet from the pope's account 23 hours ago, we must trust in the mighty power of goth god's mercy. we are all sinners, but his grace transforms us and makes us new. back to the last time a pope resigned, that was so 600 years ago. and, in fact, there have only been ten popes in all of history, and a number of popes resigned, and right to jim bittermann joining us by phone. very, very unusual. the reasons cited, the pope's age and health. tell us about the pope's health.

some of the challenges over the last year or so. >> hey, he has had all -- he had what for him was a fairly rigorous travel schedule. his predecessor took more than 110 trips while he was in office. pope benedict xvi traveled a lot for a rather elderly man to begin with. he began his paper acy at an advanced age and one of the things a lot of people had picked him as kind of an interim pope, he will hold on for a while because of advanced age and would eventually die and a new pope would be elected. of course, what we're seeing is something that just as you mentioned just leading in totally unprecedented in modern times in the church, and that's the pope resigned, and he said that his predecessor, many of them suffered from ill health,

paul 6:00 was in not very good shape at all, john paul -- john paul xxiii, and pius, a number of them ended their reigns in ill health. maybe u.s. a better service to the church, one feels one can no longer fulfill his duties as benedict xvi said. perhaps it's better for the church to step down voluntarily. rather than to wait until death. >> back in 1989 and 1994, john paul ii had prepared we know to resign, if, in fact, he had some sort of condition or disease that would keep him from fulfilling his ministry, we have learned that the late pope's the person in charge of his affairs. incredibly unusualnusual.

right to dan lothian at the white house. did they have a close relationship. a typical relationship that you would have between a pope and world leader? >> i think it can be described as a respectful relationship, and the two have met, on one time face to face as far as we're aware, and back in 2009, overseas to agana and moscow, met face to face for 25 minutes, talked about billions of dollars in aid to developing countries and much of their discussion, food aid and discussion centered around that. an interesting sort of behind the scenes moment that took place during that first meeting when the president pointed out that dennis mcdone ough, the president's pick to be next chief of staff, pointing out he's a catholic and his brother is a priest. an interesting colorful moment during that meeting with the

pope. president and pope have this respectful relationship. not always seeing eye to eye. and the president has been pressed on issues such as abortion, stem cells, not always agreeing on issues, but certainly respectful. the white house so far has not put out any official comment to the resignation. i did reach out to a number of officials and they will get some reaction to the president later today. >> dan lothian, thank you. i want to introduce our team. congresswoman nan hey worth with us, and charles blow back with us, this is huge news. not only because it's incredibly rare, but the bigger question what do you do with a pope who is retirement? how is he worked into what has happened -- what has happened in the church. >> does he have some sort of

influence or who succeeds him. what kichb power does he have? >> what he won't do, won't be the customary mourning period when a pope passes on, experts say we will see a new pope sooner rather than later, because there won't be that delay where everyone pauses and a nine-day mourning period and people have speeches and ceremonies, that won't happen. so a rush of events happening very, very soon about picking the new pope and selecting who that will be and what direction that pope may take the church. so that's fascinating i think. >> to a large degree that very process is a very political process, the pope has made new appointments, pope benedict recently, and i think it was back in mid october. which had a lot of people very curious about the direction he was going in appointments he made, and now we sort of look back to that time in october, early november and think, okay, did he know this was sort of what was in the works?

>> do you know? what was the nature of what he is saying? is it really physical or some sort of mental issues? if it's a mental issue, then you start to question how far back does the mental problem exist. >> they said in the press conference this morning, he was fully aware, and full capacity. that he knows exactly what is going on and has decided. and certainly historically, he always felt a pope could resign and back in 2010, in the book he released. a clear walk through. something a pope could do. modern popes that felt popes shouldn't resign. the idea of being the father of the flock was not a job you could opt out of. you remained in office until you die. >> in some ways, it's a reflecti reflection. you think about the last pope who resigned in the 15th century who resigned to resolve a dispute about succession. think about technology today. human nature has the not

changed, about you the technology has. the means and speed in which we communicate, much harder to conceal infirmities today than it would have been back then. that may have played a role as well. >> pope john ii resigned before our eyes for a number of years and i think that influenced his decision making. >> of course. who is next? who is even sort of most likely to be a successor, and what kind of background and what kind of vision would that next pope have? pope benedict xvi was considered a hardliner in many areas. >> geography. will this pope come from the developing world? africa, latin america. >> or america? >> a lot of cardinals italian. >> young, vigorous and

exeuropean. outside europe. >> what kind of influence will the current pope have in choosing his success sore. >> interesting. we'll continue to follow this story, that's coming to us as we hear pope benedict xvi is announcing he will be resigning from office. retiring as of february 28th. other stories to talk about this morning. john has those. extreme weather news in the u.s. homes and buildings shredded. families and businesses in southern mississippi assing damage this morning after a powerful tornado ripped a path through the town of hattiesburg. a storm chaser shout th er shot it damaged parts of the university of southern mississippi and injured dozens of people. new developments in the death of a 15-year-old hadiya pendleton in chicago. police are question two men, one in his late teens, the other a 20-year-old. no charges filed. pendleton shot a week after performing during president obama's inauguration celebration

and first lady michelle obama attended her funeral services over the weekend. soledad. >> all right. got lots to talk about as we hear from cardinal -- archbishop dolan of new york, talking about how sad he is hearing word that the pope is resigning. he said this, is he the one, meaning pope benedict, who appointed me archbishop of new york. i am wearing the ring he gave me, the cross he gave me and i am feeling particular loss and sadness. talking on "today," about the sadness he feels. upon hearing word that pope benedict xvi resigning. and administration officials say jobs and the state of the economy will be featured prominently in the state of the union address. jobs programs and an increase in the wages of american workers will be unveiled and talk about

strengthening the economy. we'll head down tomorrow and wednesday morning. lindsay graham threatening to hold up two nominees. graham will block john brennan from the cia director job and chuck hagel from the defense secretary post unless the white house gives more information about last year's attack in benghazi. >> i don't think we should allow brennan to go forward for the c.i.a. directorship, hag hagel to be confirmed to the secretary of defense, until the white house gives us an accounting. did the president pick up the phone and call anyone in the living government to help these folks? what did the president do? >> a startling new report just released from the federal trade commission that found up to 42 million americans have errors in their credit report. about half of which are considered significant. the consumer data industry association is hitting back

saying "credit reports are materially accurate 98% of the time and when they do contain mistakes, our members work to resolve them quickly and to the consumers' satisfaction 95% of the time. dueling math there. "saturday night live" mocking cbs sports when the lights went out. take a look. >> i received word our own steve tasker on the sidelines has new information, steve. >> i don't know who told you that, steve. i am willing to about the you made it up. no new information. walk to you, j.b. >> back to you, steve. >> you can't back to me. i just backed to you. >> so, dan, news came out this week that you father aid child in an extramarital affair. >> come on, we agreed that was offlimits. >> that was before, dan march

inno. >> co marino. we have to fill air time. we have to admit to some stuff. >> oh, that was so funny. and you know how many times we have done that in general as reporters across the board? >> back to you, john. it is so true. all right. lots to talk about this morning. we continue to folsom breaking news. the pope benedict xvi announcing he will be stepping down at the end of motthe month. what this means for the future of the catholic church. who took home record of the year? top winners from the grammy awards and everyone's performances. here is fun. we'll be back in a moment.

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welcome, everybody. you are watching "starting point." pope benedict xvi will step down in 17 days. first time a pope has resigned since the 600s. i believe canon law has said that it is possible. it is -- it can be done. the pope can resign. are there -- the pope has been in frail health over the last year or so. any indication that his schedule has been too grueling? he has been unable to physically or psychologically deal with the demands of the office? >> i think the indication is that the vatican is trying to convey recently this is a pope who is -- is fully capable of traveling and fully sort of abreast of the latest

technologies. he started a twitter account a few months ago. in lebanon last year, cuba as well. a pope who has kept up a relatively busy schedule. we haven't had any tip-offs. he had to cancel those who help. and the van kazz in the day. making very clear doing. this decision, she thought about it, and allow for under the law of the church. and steps being carried out. very clearly laid out. not a pope forced out, moving out. only because of his poor health, or his physical health. but the vatican has kept all of this very, very carefully guarded. >> over the last six months or so, you have had some things happen at the vatican, surprise appointments of cardinals that happen mid october, back in may

i believe it was butler, the pope's butler and leaking documents stolen from the pope. and what has been the impact of those things, not only on the pope himself, but on the vatican? >> well, it's a scandal for the vatican and something clearly that the vatican doesn't want in terms of the butler and documents. the content of the documents not something that they are aware of. the cardinals -- butler sent to jail, just before christmas went to jail, visited the butler, forgave him, and the butler will be getting a job at a hospital built inside the vatican grounds. the butler has sort of been drawn back, rehabilitated if you will. slightly surprising. the fact that there are new cardinals appointed, of course, cardinals are replaced when they

die, and when there is a need to create other positions, those have been created, and certainly there will be pressure within the conclave of cardinals that will begin to meet after february 28th when the pope steps down who will make the decision about who the next pope will be. some of the same pressures that were there in 20005 when pope benedict was chosen, will exist. people from the developing world will want to see a greater say, perhaps have a pope from the developing world. >> that will be one of the pressures. the pressure of what direction does the church direction does the church go? cardinal ratzinger as cardinal and again as pope benedict was considered a hard liner with the doctrine of the catholic church, and that was a hard point for all people. as the catholic church struggles with what to do with its american churches at a time when the churches outside the united states are the ones that are

flourishi flourishing. we appreciate the update. nick, thanks so much. got to take a break. still ahead, we're going to take a look at the gramiys. if you want to know who won and who lost. diarrhea, gas, bloating? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. live the regular life. phillips'. so i used my citi thankyou card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot even on a holiday weekend. ♪ things are definitely looking up. [ male announcer ] with no blackout dates, you can use your citi thankyou points to travel whenever you want. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply.

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welcome back, everybody. last night was music's biggest night. seems like all the nominees

walked away with something. cnn's nischelle turner has more. >> no single performer dominated the grammys. the night's top prize went to the english folk rock band mumford and sons for babble. >> we're very grateful. >> reporter: the grammys were in a fun mood literally. new york pop indy fun won song of the year for "we are young." >> i don't know what i was thinking writing the chorus for this song. if this is in hd and everyone can see our faces and we are not very young. >> and the huge hit "somebody i used to know." >> for all the musicians and everyone that listens to music, cheers. >> for the most part, everyone observed the need to tone down risque outfits, but jennifer lopez did show a lot of leg. >> as you can see, i read the

memo. >> the grammys have always been more about performances than awards. this proved to be a vintage year backed by a big band. justin timberlake turned back the clock for his sepia toned duet with jay-z. and country solo winner carrie underwood dazzled in a dress that danced with color. ♪ while sting, rihanna, and bruno mars fronted an all-star tribute to bob marley. fun weathered an indoor rain sto storm, and mavis staples led an all out salute. and ll cool j, who kicked things off as the show's host, ended the night leading an all-star rap session. ♪

nischelle turner, cnn, hollywood. >> i think ll cool j is a good host. he's done it a couple of times. >> and he doesn't age. >> remarkably. >> he's from long island too. >> the premise is interesting. it was great to hear new artists get recognized. they're recognizing the wrong new artist. it's sad that frank ocean, a terrific r&b performer didn't win one of the major awards. they give it to ephemeral artists like fun. do they have any other song besides "we are young"? >> he is never totally satisfied. still to come, we follow the breaking news about pope benedict. he has announced he's stepping down. we'll tell you what this monumental announcement means. also dozens hurt after a tornado rips through parts of southern mississippi. we'll take you live to hattiesburg with a look at the

damage. the lapd still on the hunt for that former cop accused of killing a police officer and two others. now there's a massive reward being offered. are they any closer to finding christopher dorner? could only come from nature.s new nectresse. the 100% natural no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. new nectresse. sweetness naturally. new nectresse. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

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nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. if you've had enough, ask your dermatologist about enbrel. welcome, everybody. our starting point this morning, we begin with breaking news. pope benedict xvi has resigned. he is going to step down in 17 days. he'd be the first pope to resign since the 1400s. we'll have developments on this story. also this morning, a line of destruction as a tornado rips through parts of southern mississippi, destroying homes,

injuring more than a dozen people. we'll have a live report on the damage and the cleanup ahead. then here in the northeast, millions of people digging out after a history making blizzard. the dangers have not passed. we have live team coverage for you this morning with everything you need to know. meanwhile, a $1 million reward. police searching high and low for the man accused of killing three people, including a police officer. how close are authorities to catching christopher dorner? you might not even know they're there. they could cost you big time. mistakes on your credit report that could have life changing effects. that's coming up. it's monday, february 11th, and "starting point" begins right now. good morning, welcome everybody. we begin with breaking news. pope benedict xvi is resigning. the vatican has released a statement indicating age and fatigue as some of the reasons behind his resignation. "both strength of mind and body are necessary. strength which in the last few

months has deteriorated in me to the extent that i have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me." cardinal timothy dolan reacted to the news on the tooch"today" just moments ago. >> you can report that i was startled. i'm as startled as the rest of you, and i'm as anxious to find out exactly what's going on. apparently, it is confirmed. when you called first, matt, you and i both chuckled and thought this might be another rumor. it's sure enough confirmed. i find myself eager for some news. i find myself itching to read the statement in latin. i hope you can translate it. >> interesting. of course, exactly what's going on is that the resignation will take place on february 28th, which means in 17 days. they will be in the position of picking a new pope. last time a pope resigned was about 600 years ago. that was gregory xii back in

1415. want to begin with nick robinson. he's live in london. it's interesting to hear when a cardinal is surprised and is saying he'd like to understand what's going on. it makes me feel this has really become a surprise not just to those of us who follow the catholic church or who are catholic and follow it through our churches, but really the people who are closest to the pope. >> it really does show how carefully the vatican has decided to release this information and kept it under very, very close hold. the details that we are learning, because of the pope's health, because he needs to be sound in mind and body and doesn't feel his measure to that task. we've heard the vatican spokesman outlining how this has all been done within the law of the church itself, how the pope has done this willingly after deep reflection and examination of his conscience, real izing that he is no longer capable of doing it. yes, it has taken everyone by

surprise. we know the pope will step down on the 28th. 2:00 p.m. eastern time, he'll step down, 28th of february. we'll go into the papal summer residence outside of rome. following that, he'll move back to the cloisters of the vatican. the process is the conclave of cardinals gathering, about 120 all under the age of 80, to choose the next pope. it's a shock and a surprise, but the system is in place to move the process forward, soledad. >> nic robertson for us this morning. thank you, nic. want to get right to arch bishop thomas wenske, the archbishop of the diocese of miami appointed by the pope in 2010. we know, of course, that a pope can resign, code of canon law back in 1917 said as much, but does this come as much of a surprise to you as it did to cardinal dolan, who we just heard from a moment ago? >> yes, i was surprised to hear the news.

i'm not sure if i should have been surprised. it's well-known, at the end of pope john paul ii's reign as pope, cardinal ratzinger had intended to retire from his position there as the head of the holy office and live in germany with his brother and continue his works of scholarship. so he didn't go into the conclave expecting to be elected pope. he accepted it as the will of god, the will as expressed through the will of the cardinals that elected him, and he is given remarkable service in these past several years since he took over from john paul ii. i saw him in may when i visited rome for our visit that the bishops are required to make to rome every five years to give an accounting of how we're running our local churches. he was alert but certainly very frail.

i remember earlier, when i came to miami, i asked my priest to retire from my parish. he was 80 something years old. i told him i wanted him to retire, and he said, did i do something wrong? i said, no, father, but 83 is 83. the pope is 85 years old, and 85 is 85. you can imagine that at that age the rigors of the office, of running a universal church is indeed very pressing. >> one would imagine. at the same time, real ly, the present would tell you they don't retire. they die in office. we know that john paul ii had prepared twice to resign but never actually came -- >> this is not the first time the pope has resigned. first time in about 400 years, but the church is an institution that dates back to the time of

st. peter, who was the first pope, and in those 2,000 years of history, there have been occasions that popes have indeed resigned for various reasons, and, of course, the code of canon law, as you pointed out, has put into place provisions to anticipate such an eventuality. >> who do you think would be sort of top people who would be in the running to be the next pope? and what does that tell us about the direction the church could go? >> it's hard to speculate. there's an old saying in rome that a cardinal that goes into a conclave as a pope usually come out of the conclave as just a cardinal. it's really difficult to speculate. but there are about 120 cardinals, and certainly one of them will emerm as the next

pope. even in that case, the cardinals are no not obliged to select another cardinal as pope. they could choose a bishop, but that would certainly be unprecedented as well. we would expect that one of the cardinals going into the conclave will emerge as pope. again, i think they're going to be looking for a person that has some linguistic abilities as did pope benedict and john paul ii before him. they'll be looking for somebody that would have the ability to travel because that seems to be the new requirement of the papacy in the modern age. again, the pope is scheduled to go to rio de janeiro this summer for world youth day, and i'm expecting the pope will go. we just don't know the name of that pope as yet. >> interesting to watch as it happens. archbishop of miami thomas wenski, thank you for joining us this morning.

there are other store yiies mak news we need to get to as well. several neighborhoods in mississippi are picking up the pieces after a violent tornado ripped through the town of hattiesburg, about 70 miles north of jackson. an observer shot these pictures. look at that. a large funnel cloud moving. multiple buildings around the town are damaged. at least a dozen of people are injured. university of southern mississippi campus was hit. describe for us how bad it was and how bad it is. we can see a little bit behind you of some of that damage. >> reporter: i'll describe for you how bad it was as you take a look at how bad this building is. first, this is the ogletreehouse on the campus of university of southern mississippi. it started out 100 years ago as the home of the president of the college. now it's the alumni association's homes. you see piles of bricks here, and some parts of this building still intact. chairs, tables, degrees hanging on the walls. to talk about how bad it was,

when it came through early sunday evening, it's described as being 3/4 of a mile wide just charging through this town. we've spoken with the cops here touring this area. a few miles away, there's the oak grove high school. there's damage there. this stayed in town and on the ground for some time. as it relates to injuries, we're told there's no injuries on campus. 60 injury reports from hospitals. only a few were severe enough to be transported. power outages at the height up to 13,000. now down to 4,000. homes here, buildings damaged on many ka pus. we can tell you that students are not in class today or tomorrow. they're in new orleans, most of them, for mardi gras. >> watching that as they face a big cleanup ahead of them. thanks for the update. we appreciate it. northeast only just beginning to dig out from the weekend's history making blizzard. possibility of another big headache today. parts of the region, including parts of connecticut, are now

bracing for freezing rain. the blizzard dumped 40 inches of snow in hamden, connecticut. many roads are blocked in new york after crews worked through the night clearing snow. the governor announced the long island expressway has been reopened. that is the main way from new york city into long island. hundreds of cars ended up stuck on the l.i.e. over the weekend. alison kosik in ronkonkoma, new york. let's begin with you. >> reporter: soledad, 40 inches of snow. 27 degrees in hamden, connecticut. we're getting the freezing rain, the sleet that's making the snow hard as a rock. to give you perspective, look at this. i'm standing on about 15 feet of snow. you find these big mounds all over hamden as crews do their best to clear the roads. when we're talking about the roads, i want to show you what's happening. many of the roads have been cleared, but the mayor here in hamden said of about 240 miles of roads in the city, 50% are

impassable. the highways are mostly clear. the side roads in the city are mainly clear. but when you get into the different neighborhoods, that's where you find a lot of the unplowed roads, people who have been stuck in their homes now for 72 hours. and we found this interesting. how emergency crews have been responding to calls for help during the last few hours. listen to this. >> we've had to walk here, use basically foot power. park the truck as close as we can and get guys together. we jerry rigged a sled to pull people out. we're going a mile down these streets that aren't plowed, putting people on a sled, and dragging them out to an ambulance. >> reporter: in some cases we even learned they used the payloaders and put patients in the scoop of the payloaders to get them out of the heavy snow, into the fire trucks, where they

could rush them to area hospitals. it's been complicated doing that job. again, the morning commute will be rough. we're talking about the freezing rain, the sleet, 27 degrees, and out here, you don't have to be a professional to moonwalk. there's a lot of black ice out here. a dicey commute this morning, soledad. >> oh, my goodness, wow. it looks terrible, and the rain hasn't even started that they're expecting. george howell for us. thanks, george. let's get right to alison kosik in ronkonkoma, long island. i know they opened up the l.i.e., which is a big help to folks, but still how messy is it? >> reporter: it's very messy. the rain obviously not helping. you know this, living in and around new york city, soledad, on an average day, commuting can be a real headache. throw in the fact that the major highway here partially was shut down, that becomes a migraine. yes, some good news for commuters this morning. both the east and westbound sides of l.i.e. have reopened from the portion that was shut over the past 12 to 15 hours.

you know, that's if you can get to the highway. a lot of these side streets here have yet to be really plowed. i've watched a lot of cars get stuck right on this road, just trying to get to the highway. that's another issue here, soledad. >> looks like a big mess out there. that's a major route, of course, to get into the city. as monday morning commute starts, that's going to be a real challenge for some koeks. alison kosik for us. thanks, alison. alexandra steele is tracking some threats for us. what are you look at? >> we're looking at a little bit of everything. here's hamden, where george was, the freezing rain falling. where alison was on long island, here's the rain coming down. that's because of the temperature split. this will all move through in the afternoon, and temperatures, even in connecticut, will warm up. we'll see a change over to rain. where it will stay snow is vermont and new hampshire, even north of new england through the afternoon. the bigger trouble, what's

happening with that tornado that we saw yesterday. today the threat in the south isn't so much rotation with these storms. it's more the heavy rain and the flooding rain. so you can see this rain train on i-10, i-20, and some very strong storms and a lot of lightning, but not that rotation. so we're lower risk of tornadoes today. very heavy rain. between yesterday and wednesday when the system finally moves out, a potential for three to five inches of rain, even isolated six inches or so. bigger threat today, the rain, the inundags of rain in the southeast. soledad? >> alexandra, thank you for watching it for us. other stories making news. thousands of people expected at cowboy stadium today for chris kyle's memorial service. kyle is the former navy sniper shot and killed at a shooting range in texas. a friend was also killed in that incident. police arrested and charged a 25-year-old ex-marine. tomorrow there will be a 200 mile funeral procession to the texas state cemetery in austin. president obama today will

award the medal of honor to a hero of the afghanistan war. staff sergeant clinton romesha helped rescue the injure and retrieve the dead during an ambush by hundreds of taliban fighters in afghanistan. this is despite having a hole in his own arm from a rocket propelled grenade. he will also be mrs. obama's guest tomorrow at the state of the union address. three people filming a new reality show for the discovery channel died sunday when their helicopter crashed near los angeles. right now federal investigators don't know what went wrong. the pilot, a cameraman, and a cast member were killed. discovery said the show is still in production and has a military theme. so "argo" now is the pretty clear front-runner heading into the oscars. the film continued the awards season domination at britain's oscars, the bafta awards, winning three trophies, including best picture and best director for ben affleck. not even nominated for a best director oscar. "lincoln" had ten tnominations

but took home one award, for best actor for daniel day lewis. >> don't you feel great if you're ben affleck? >> he can win the nobel prize for directing but not the oscar. >> i want to thank the committee for the pulitzer. still ahead on "starting point," much more on the breaking news we've been following all morning. pope benedict xvi is resigning at the end of the month. tell you what it means for the catholic church and what it means for choosing the next pope. and a man hunt for a man accused of killing three people in california. how close are they to catching christopher dorner?

the search for christopher dorner taking place in california. a $1 million reward for that leads to his capture and conviction. dorner is accused of killing three people, including a police officer. despite his statement to wage war fare against the lapd and their families. they issued a stern message to dorner. >> let me be clear. our dedication to catching this killer remains steadfast. our confidence that we will bring him to justice is unshaken. this search is not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

i want christopher dorner to know that. we will not tolerate this reign of terror that has robbed us of the peace of mind that residents of southern california deserve. >> nick valencia is in los angeles for us this morning. let's start with the very latest on the search for dorner. do they feel they're getting closer? >> reporter: good morning, soledad. we're entering day five in the manhunt for the renegade ex-cop chris dorner. there have been no new leads. he's accused of killing three people in his vendetta against his former police department. you mentioned the $1 million reward. that was pulled together by businesses, private donors, and community groups. it's the largest offer ever in a criminal investigation in southern california. yesterday in a news conference, lapd chief charlie beck explained why they're offering so much money. >> $1 million. this is the largest local reward

ever offered to our knowledge. some may ask, why so large? this is an act -- and make no mistake about it -- of domestic terrorism. this is a man who has targeted those that we entrust to protect the public. his actions cannot go unanswered. a society is defined by what it values. and we value our law enforcement family. that's why the reward is so significant. >> reporter: i spoke to the lapd this morning, soledad. they told me there have been hundreds of tips to come in since that reward went public. the latest being yesterday afternoon at a lowe's home improvement store in northridge. police cleared the scene there, but they didn't find anything. soledad? >> so is there any indication that this $1 million reward,

which as they say, is the most massive local reward ever offered, is going to lead to information? do they feel there's some people just not giving information and that money could motivate them? >> reporter: there is concern among the police department -- we've been in touch with them and talking to dozens of police officers over the last couple of days -- a fear is there's been empathizers that come out. one of the police officers we spoke to a few days ago, we talked to him about safety concerns, and they were saying the thing that concerns them the most is the empathizers that have come out, the support that's come out for chris dorner online. having said that, there have been thousands of alleged sightings of chris dorner in the last week. again, nothing has come up so far. we're entering day five here. police still have no new leads or developments. they focused that search about 90 miles east of here, soledad, in big bear mountain, but they have not come up with anything yet. >> continue to watch it. nick valencia for us. appreciate the update. john's got a look at some of the other stories making news.

>> thanks so much, soledad. a carnival cruise ship is stranded in the gulf of mexico. the fire broke out on the carnival ship triumph on its way to galveston, texas. it left the ship really dead in the water. more than 4,200 passengers and crew on board the liner. no reports of injuries. another ship is expected to meet up with the triumph this morning and tow the stranded ship to port in mexico. expected to arrive there on wednesday. the late joe paterno's family claiming he bears no blame in the jerry sandusky sex abuse case. penn state's report concluded paterno failed to stop the former assistant's crimes. the paternos' own review of that report says it was now based on speculation and opinion, not fact. paterno's widow sue talked about this with katie couric. >> it is still hard to accept, but when i read the first charge, i actually got physically ill and couldn't read any more for a couple of days.

>> former investigator led penn state's investigation. he says he stands by that report, and the paterno family's own review is what he calls self-serving. the president's point on tougher gun laws, vice president joe biden, will meet with lawmakers in philadelphia. he wants more support for his gun proposals. president obama expected to give more details on this tomorrow in his state of the union address. the greatest dog show on earth, the westminster kennel club dog show starts today at madison square garden. more than 2,700 dogs enter, but only one leaves as best in show. golden retrievers are this year's most popular entries in the show, followed by labs, rhodesian ridge backs and bulldo bulldogs. this is rigged for terriers right now. if a golden retriever wins, that would be historic. >> do you happen to have a retriever? >> no. >> sounds like that, you have a

dog in the fight. >> i've covered way too many of these, and it's always the little tiny scottish terriers that seem to dominate. >> last year's winner was very poofy and cute. >> i want a dog, a big dog. >> be las are the most popular dog in america, and poodles are another very popular breed in america. >> i had a golden retriever, great dog, good dogs. >> but could it win? >> it's not about winning. they're good with kids. they're good outside. >> they're not the 1% of dogs. >> it's not about winning. >> just watch "best in show." >> love that movie. >> still ahead on "starting point," we're going to continue to update you on breaking news about pope benedict xvi. he is resigning. some are saying he's abdicating. we'll have a live report, reaction from the catholic church straight ahead. also, what you don't know about your credit report could cost you serious money. a troubling report about mistakes that could impact your family and you as well. many cereals say they're good for your heart, but did you know there's a cereal that's recommended by doctors? it's post shredded wheat.

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breaking news is what we start with this morning.

pope benedict xvi is the first to resign. farther james martin is a jesuit priest and the culture editor of "america" magazine. great to see you again. >> thank you. nice to see you. >> when you heard this news, what was your reaction? >> shock. it had been talked about, but no one really thought it was going to happen. i think it's a very selfless act, a very noble act the pope is doing for the good of the church. his health had been deteriorating. this, i think, has caught everyone by surprise. >> here's a little of what he said when he made the announcement to his cardinals. in part, he said, i have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the petrine ministry. he went on to talk about how strength of body and mind are necessary and how he was recognizing his own incapacity to fulfill the ministry that was entrusted to him. and yet popes again and again over time have all faced that same decision. pope john paul ii certainly twice was in a position where he thought about resigning and ultimately did not. what do you think makes this

pope, pope benedict, do this? it seems very unusual to me. >> it is. two different men looking at the same situation two different ways. john paul, i think, looked at it in a sense as an example. the pope was suffering, like everyone else would suffer, and so he was providing an example to the faithful. benedict, you know, may see it more from a practical point of view that he no longer can do his job. and it is true that on recent trips he's looked very week. even in the vatican, some of the activities have been curtails. and like any of us, he probably thought for the good of the church it makes sense right now. i simply cannot do the job that's been entrusted to me. >> there's been a lot about the surprise appointments he made of cardinals back in october. is it enough -- he appointed an american, someone from lebanon, india, nigeria, colombia, and someone from the philippines as well. this was a big surprise happening, what, just three months ago. i'm wondering, is this an indication, as we look at it

now, that, in fact, he was sort of getting ready to bring to the number 120, which is the maximum number of cardinals that would be allowed to vote on a pope, that this has really been in the works for months? >> i think that's really insightful. he obviously had been thinking about this for a while. i read something that said that his brother, who's a monsignor, had said that the pope was considering this. the idea that he would want to put his stamp on the college of cardinals and sort of arrange it so that someone, in keeping with his thoughts and his perspective would be his successor makes a lot of sense. also, it's the last time he can create cardinals as well. >> it's gone on enough. he has a details explanation about what's going on here and why he's decided to step down. >> i think people know about his health. about his deteriorating health.

he's at an advanced age. i think the surprise is that no one has done it before. he's a pretty advanced thinker as well. >> you think this sets some kind of precedent going forward? this is a major shift. >> it could. interestingly, i'm a jesuit, and our superior general resigned for the first time in the history of the society of jesus, the jesuits, and there was a lot of surprise about that too. i think once it's done, it makes it a little more normal. i think the next person is going to have to think of the same thing when he gets to this age. >> what happens then with the resigned pope? is he -- the history of the catholic church, certainly when you look at the popes over the last 2,000 years, has been fraught with intrigue and political power and sometimes people being forced to resign. certainly, i think the one in the 1400s was a forced resignation, not necessarily one of his own volition. so what would be the power and the role potentially of a pope

who's abdicated his position but still is physically and mentally there? >> that is the question. because it's really unprecedented. you've said for many centuries we haven't had something like this. he'll obviously be, quite obviously, a senior figure and someone that people will continue to look to. one doesn't know what he's going to do. he might decide to write, for example. he really enjoys writing books. he'd like to take time off for that. he might retire to a monastery somewhere. he might stay in the vatican. i think what's really interesting, it will be more difficult for his successor, whoever he is, to make any sort of big changes because it would be seen as, in a sense, a slight against a former living pope. >> unless they pick someone who's philosophically very different, right? >> that's the problem. if you have a new pope who basically takes the church in a dramatically different direction, or you have a living pope, a lot of people kind of

have emotional investment in the pope now, how does that -- how do you have these two constituencies with two different living popes around, and how do they make that work? >> i think it's probably unlikely because, if you think about it, the people that he has created as cardinals and the people who are in the college of cardinals, they're essentially the people who voted for him, right, just a few years ago. so they'll be thinking along the same lines as he is. and the people, as soledad was saying, who just created cardinals, in a sense, solidify the people who would be thinking about the church. >> stacked the deck a little bit. >> a little bit. and thinking about the church in the same way. so you probably won't see much of a shift in his successor. but it is interesting to think of the successor looking over his shoulder at pope benedict. >> it's bizarre. >> let me ask you a question. the last time they talked about the pope potentially resigning, and i know there have been rumored over time, is when his butler leaked these personal, private documents. how much -- and there has been

sort of scandal that has enveloped the catholic church in the time that cardinal ratzinger went on to become pope benedict of how much of that is playing a role in what we see now? >> honestly, i think zero. this is something he's been thinking about something for the last year, i would say, because of his declining health. i don't think those things would have affected it. this is a historic decision. as someone, it's a person of position. it's someone who has to deal with his own personal health. only he knows how he's feeling and how he can do and how he can go on these trips. i think it's more kind of personal rather than related to these scandals. >> do you think there's a cultural element to this in that the image of the church needs to keep pace with the times, that perhaps we need a pope from the developing world, from outside europe, who is young, who's vigorous? >> well, it could. i think that it may be more just

a practical decision. frequently, popes, because they're cardinals, they're elected later in life, in their 70s, sometimes 80s, so it's not surprising you would have someone who's old. we'll probably get another older person, maybe in their 60s or 70s. could be someone from the developing world. i think he's looking at this simply from the practical point of view, can i get up in the morning, go to work, do all these trips, make all these decisions, run this sort of international organization? in a sense, he's running an international corporation. any ceo would probably make the same kind of decision. >> and he's under more scrutiny. >> than anybody. >> than any other pope. >> than anybody. >> in this era. >> i think it's a very selfless thing because it's someone who is giving up the reins of power voluntarily, which, i think, is very selfless and very noble. others of us would want to hold on to it. >> absolutely. that's why i would imagine most popes end up keeping those positions. very rare to have a pope say that he will resign or abdicate his position. father martin, nice to have you

with us. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> other stories making news this morning. picking up the pieces. several neighborhoods trying to recover from a tornado that tore a path through southern mississippi. a storm chaser caught this twister crossing a highway. amazing pictures right now. the funnel cloud is almost a mile wide. thousands still without electricity there, and more than a dozen people are injured. mississippi governor phil bryant has declared a state of emergency for those affected areas. u.s. marine general joseph dunford taking charge of the military force in afghanistan. he'll oversee the final two years of the war and the withdrawal of all troops. at the change of command ceremony, dunford said today is not about change, it's about continuity. he replaces general john allen, who has been nominated as nato's supreme allied commander. an interesting medical story. researchers at the university of michigan report that obese mouse giving a drug used to treat mouth sores lost weight.

the mice did not eat less or exercise more. the question is could the drug work for obese people? researchers don't have an answer on that yet, but they will test this drug on humans later this year. that should be interesting. a startling new report just released from the federal trade commission that found up to 42 million americans had errors in their credit report. about half which are considered significant. the consumer data industry association is hitting back, saying, "credit reports are materially accurate 98% of the time, and when they do contain mistakes, our members work to resolve them quickly and to the consumer's satisfaction 95% of the time." a little folk, a little fun, and not as much flesh at the 55th annual grammy awards. british folk brand mumford and sons got top honors with their album "babel." while song of the year went to "we are young" by the new york indy group fun, also named best new artist. almost everyone took cbs' tone

it downward robe request seriously. almost everyone. >> as you can see, i read the memo. >> in addition to j.lo's leg, it was the performances that really turned heads, including justin timberlake. >> it's a nice leg, though. >> it was a leg. >> he returned to the stage about jay-z. but what everyone's talking about this morning, this picture, chris brown and riha a rihanna, no distance between them. they were cozying up watching the show. there's one other picture, i think it's safe to say, that everyone is talking about trending online. let's take a look. i think the caption contest right here, the only winner would be busted on so many levels. ellen degeneres staring at katy perry there, thinking what a lot of people were thinking. >> that was a very hot dress she had on. i think it's against the rules, if i remember the memo. >> i think it's against the law. >> still ahead on "starting point," we'll continue to talk about the resignation, really

the abdication of pope benedict xvi. who does he resign to? he can't resign. he has to abdicate his position. we'll follow this breaking news. also, the state of texas trying to woo businesses in california. we're going to take a look at what this jobs war, if you will, is doing to both states. san diego mayor bob filner. why not make the day unforgettable? with two times the points on travel, from taxis to trains. you'll be asking why not, a lot. chase sapphire preferred. there's more to enjoy.

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but i hear building a business in california is next to impossible. this is texas governor rick perry, and i have a mess anl ag california businesses. come check out texas. >> reporter: governor jerry brown immediately dismissed the spot and the media. >> you take a little radio ad, and all you guys run like lap dogs to report it. it's not even a burp. it's barely a fart. >> reporter: governor perry's answer was to buy a plane ticket to the west coast. what it really is is an all-out war for jobs as the nation's two biggest states each try to grow their economies by attracting business. brown brushed aside his fellow governor. but governor perry appears to be serious in his quest to lure businesses away from california. he's got meetings this week with ceos all across the state, including here in san francisco and silicon valley. some say governor brown shouldn't be taking all of this lightly. what do you think of governor brown's response? >> well, it's disappointing. i wish the leaders of state took this issue a bit more seriously.

>> reporter: aaron mcclear worked for a former california governor, republican arnold schwarzenegger. he's advising perry, who may have plenty of ammo. >> ceos year after year say california is the worst place in the country to do business. >> reporter: still perry is likely to encounter some resistance, especially from silicon valley. ruswana is the ceo of the hot new travel website called peak. >> these of us that want to build big technology companies don't see that there's anywhere else but california to be. >> reporter: but perry has his sights on other industries, including hollywood. a lot of film production already has left the state. his visit there seems fitting for what is becoming a high political drama. dan simon, cnn, san francisco. >> want to bring in mayor bob filner, the mayor of san diego, a city where governor perry has done scouting in the past. what is your reaction to this ad campaign? do you dismiss it, as we heard

from the governor? >> we take it seriously. it shows the allure of california when he's coming as a tourist. so we welcome his money. even if you take the governor's arguments at face value, which i don't, it's only part of the story. we have an incredible innovative economy in california, unparalleled lifestyle, quality, education, spectacular beaches and climate. i mean, you've got to include that in the quality of life attraction that the governor has. even at taking it at its own value -- and it's a challenge for us and the governor of california and i working on streamlining regulations, but what he's saying is that he's going to sacrifice the long-term investment in our environmental protection and in our quality of education. that's how you keep all that stuff low that he's talking about. you're sacrificing that for a short-term corporate gain. that is not the way the future of our state should be expressed. >> if you're a corporation, then maybe sort of having someone

focusing on the corporation and making those have more strength and vitality might be a worthwhile match. for example, this guy, peter farrell, is the ceo of resmed. it's in san diego. it the a medical device company. they're thinking about moving to ut. let me read what this guy, mr. farrell, had to say about why he wants to leave. "we just see costs going up, benefits going down, more regulation, more taxes, more of an not ti business kind of environment. the unemployment rate in texas is 7%. we're over 10%. surely they must realize that the policies here are incredibly negative. they're just anti-growth." how do you answer something like that? >> we're using that resmed case study in san diego to focus on just exactly what we might do, say, as a city or as a state to keep a company like that here. we hear a lot of generalities.

i want to know the specifics. we're going to use that as a case study, and we take it seriously. we're not going to sacrifice in california or san diego a high quality of life based on educational investment, innovative economy, lifestyle, for, again, a short-term corporate profits. there are some companies, especially if they're low wage companies or established technologies that might profit from that and make that move, but when you're talking about our future and what we in san diego especially are doing is trying to recover from our economy with innovative based technologies and companies, that kind of allure is just not -- is not sufficient. we want to concentrate on a quality education, for example, not only for a work force, but for the children of those employees who work there. we want to concentrate on housing and affordable housing for everybody and the arts and culture of a community, all that

is part of a decision-making process, not just a short term profit and loss. >> bob filner is the mayor of san diego joining us this morning. thank you, sir. appreciate your time. got to take a short break. still ahead, we'll talk about how catholics are reacting to the surprising news about pope benedict xvi resigning. for over 75 years people ...with geico... ohhh...sorry!. director's voice: here we go. from the top. and action for over 75 years people have saved money with gecko so.... director's voice: cut it! ...what...what did i say? gecko? i said gecko? aw... for over 75 year...(laughs. but still trying to keep it contained) director's voice: keep it together. i'm good. i'm good. for over 75...(uncontrollable laughter). what are you doing there? stop making me laugh.

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good morning. welcome back, everybody. we're covering breaking news for you as we've been talking about all morning. pope benedict xvi, the leader of the catholic church, is now

resigning. he's set to step down at the end of february. let's bring you to shannon travis at the basilica in washington, d.c. what's been the reaction, shannon, when you've been talking to those in the catholic faith about this news? >> reporter: there's been a range of reaction, from obviously shock and dismay, as you can imagine, but spri surprisingly to one nun based here in washington, saying she's thrilled about the pope resigning. we're obviously here at the basilica, as you mentioned, which is just next to the catholic university of the united states. but back to some of that reaction. one of the spiritual directors here at the basilica said that he actually thinks it's a good thing that the pope is relinquishing his grip on power at the vatican. again, back to that nun. take a listen at her reaction to this, soledad. >> i'm absolutely pleasantly surprised. i really think we have to look at our church and see how it

should go going forward, and i think this pope has been very holy, but i think some of the appointments he's made have been what i would say less than creative in terms of dealing with the church and the world as we know it today. >> reporter: a similar sentiment, soledad, from another parishioner i spoke with who said she's actually happy as well because she thinks it's time for a younger person to ascend to the papacy. soledad? >> quick question for you. people have been as stunned as some of the members of the clergy that we've had opportunities to hear from this morning. >> reporter: yeah. i mean, people have been very vocal here today. again, most people -- we went to the very early mass, the very first one this morning. most people were just learning of the news, and, again, it was shocking to post people. some of them have actually heard it from us, but, again, a broad range of reaction from these people saying, you know what, we think this might be a good

thing. especially given his declining health, as he cited himself. so it's been a pretty broad range of reaction, soledad. >> there are many people who look to areas in which the catholic church is growing, for example in africa or latin america. have they talked about where they would hope the next pope to be from? >> reporter: no. no one has specifically said they have a preference for where the next pope should come from, but back to that nun, i did ask her, what would be your message to the cardinals who will be attending conclave in terms of picking another pope? she said essentially be brave and be bold in picking his successor. >> whatever that means. be brave and be bold. it will be interesting to see it now as we hear that on february 28th, that the pope will be leaving his office. that will be the last day. shannon travis for us. thanks, shannon. we appreciate the reporting from there. we're going to continue, of course, to cover this breaking news of the pope's resignation. it will continue in special coverage right after this short commercial break. under stephens.

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